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Chinese President Hu Jintao has opened a Communist Party congress that begins a
once-in-a-decade power transfer with a stark warning on corruption.
Addressing more than 2,000 delegates, Mr Hu said that a failure to tackle the
issue "could prove fatal to the party".
China faced unprecedented opportunities and challenges, he said, and the nation
should "aim higher and work harder".
His speech kicks off a week-long meeting that will see a new set of leaders
unveiled.
Security is very tight across Beijing, with many dissidents detained or under
house arrest, rights groups say.
Analysis
Kerry Brown Professor of Chinese politics, University of Sydney
All the standard slogans we have become familiar with during the Hu Jintao
period got an airing in his speech. "Peaceful development", "creating a
beautiful China", "firmly marching on the path of socialism with Chinese
characteristics".
There was the familiar stress on needing to have stability and security in
society, and to support the military, nurture good relations with Taiwan across
the Strait and, perhaps with a little more force than it would have usually
been given in view of the Bo Xilai events, a section on the need to do
something about corruption.
All it really tells us is that, till the last, Hu Jintao has been a man of
immense political and personal self-control. His legacy will be consensus-led,
collective leadership in an age in which Chinese society was undergoing fast,
profound and disorientating changes.
Full analysis of speech
Mr Hu told delegates at the Great Hall of the People that China had to adapt to
a changing domestic and global environment.
"We must aim higher and work harder and continue to pursue development in a
scientific way, promote social harmony and improve the people's lives," he
said.
China's development should be made more balanced and sustainable, he said, and
the "serious challenge" of corruption should be addressed.
"If we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the party, and
even cause the collapse of the party and the fall of the state," he said.
Anyone who broke the law would be brought to justice, "whoever they are and
whatever power or official positions they have", he said.
The corruption warning echoed one delivered 10 years ago during the previous
leadership transition, when the party was told it risked "heading for
self-destruction" if it did not tackle the issue.
The months leading up to this congress have seen China's political leadership
rocked by a scandal involving Bo Xilai, the former Chongqing party leader once
seen as a candidate for top office.
His wife has been jailed for murdering a British businessman and he is expected
to face trial on corruption-related charges.
Across China, meanwhile, recent cases of official corruption have stoked public
anger and there have been a series of high-profile mass protests focusing on
land grabs and environmental issues.
On the internet, thousands of people have left comments appealing for better
measures to fight corruption on official websites launched for the congress by
the three major party mouthpieces - Xinhua news agency, People's Daily and
China Central Television (CCTV).
Economic growth has also slowed in recent months and the wealth gap is an issue
of great concern, as is China's ageing population.
Mr Hu said a new model for economic growth was needed to respond to domestic
and global changes.
"On the basis of making China's development much more balanced, coordinated and
sustainable, we should double its 2010 GDP and per capita income for both urban
and rural residents (by 2020)," he said.
Amid rumbling regional tensions over territorial rows in the East China and
South China Sea, Mr Hu said the nation should "resolutely safeguard" maritime
rights and become a maritime power.
"Active and prudent efforts" should be made to reform the political structure,
he said, without giving details.
'Growing concerns'
The congress - for which no formal schedule has been revealed - will last a
week and will be keenly observed for any indications of the leadership's future
plans.
During the congress a new central committee is selected. It then chooses the
country's highest decision-making body, the Standing Committee of the
Politburo.
The process takes place behind closed doors, with the make-up of the top bodies
in reality decided ahead of time.
The current Standing Committee has nine members, of whom seven including Mr Hu
and Premier Wen Jiabao are expected to step down.
Continue reading the main story
Party numbers
Communist Party flag in Chengdu
Ruled China since 1949
83m members in 2011
77% of members are men
Farmers make up one third of membership
6.8m members work for the Party and state agencies
Funded by government grant and membership dues
Private businessmen allowed to join since 2001
Seven of country's richest men attending congress
The other two members, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, are expected to become party
leader and deputy respectively. Mr Xi is also expected to take over from Mr Hu
as China's president in March 2013.
Ahead of the congress there has been speculation that the number of seats on
the committee will be reduced from nine to seven.
Analysts say there has also been division at the very top of the leadership,
with two rival factions jostling for position and influence.
Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, propaganda chief Liu Yunshan, party organisation
chief Li Yuanchao and Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang are thought to be the
front-runners.
But the exact composition of the committee will not be clear until it is
formally announced next week, likely on 15 November at a plenum expected to
follow the congress.
In Beijing, more than 1.4 million volunteers have been brought in to help out
with security for the congress.
Transport restrictions are in place, street vendors have been told to close and
even the flying of kites has reportedly been banned.
Rights group Amnesty International says more than 130 political dissidents were
unlawfully detained or placed under house arrest ahead of the meeting.